Jessa and Ben Seewald don’t spend much time in the public eye these days, but they recently stepped out to be guests on a podcast. They
chatted with Elisha and Katie Voetberg on the Voetbergs’ podcast, “Now that We’re a Family.” They talk about their life as parents of five young children and what they prioritize. Ben has been a pastor for four years, and Jessa is busy homeschooling. They also discuss balancing family relationships with Ben’s church duties, as well as other topics.
Good listen! I noticed their decline in making YT videos.
ReplyDeleteWhat qualifies Jessa to homeschool? A homeschool "high school" education from a state with little oversight or testing, using IBLP "wisdom" booklets? I'd want more for my kids if I were her.
ReplyDeleteYou don't have to be qualified to homeschool.. I homeschool and my son is extremely bright. He's athletic and goes to a Christian camp every summer. I'm able to cue.in on his strengths and weaknesses subjects wise and follow a good curriculum. We learn inside and outside the home. He's not a bell curve student for sure!
DeleteYou don't need special qualifications to homeschool your children. Why do you assume she uses IBLP curriculum?
DeleteThe irony of someone uneducated on homeschooling commenting on someone else’s lack of education … do your research. Most states do have certain guidelines. If you ever watched 19 Kids and Counting, they shared their curriculum many times. The wisdom booklets were for character training, not for core subjects like reading, writing, math, social studies, or science. Also, Jessa herself had a GED which means she had to complete a test given by the state. The majority of public school children now are reading and writing well under grade level. I’d focus on that, dear, instead of spreading false information.
Delete8:36 Dear, public schools are charged with educating everyone who comes through the door, regardless of disability, home situation, languages spoken, or behavior. Comparing them to a homeschool situation is like comparing apples and oranges.
Delete8:36 No, there were many core subject covered in those booklets.
Delete8:36 How did Jessa get a GED? Are you sure? You can't do that in her state if you've graduated from any school, home or public, and graduation from home depends on when your parents decide you're finished, not on any standardized curriculum or tests. So do you think Jessa was home schooled, stopped because her parents decided she had enough schooling to graduate, and then she took a test and earned a GED? Can't be done.
Delete@12:05 Problem is, too many parents think they're qualified to home school when they're not. Arkansas does zero checks on parents or students. Not sure how that makes it better to home school. I doubt Jessa is going to be able to teach (or just help with) higher math or science classes like calculus and physics. I can't see her teaching Latin or computer science either. This means her kids are educationally hobbled from the start. Most public schools have AP courses or other college credit courses. Some have certification courses that allow you to go straight into technical jobs. Do you really think Jessa is going to provide that kind of school while taking care of all the kids at different levels that she's going to have to "teach" at home?
DeleteThere are great online classes for upper-level math and science, or she could get them a tutor or put them in a co-op for those subjects. All perfectly legit ways to handle those classes as a homeschool parent.
Delete@11:17 You miss something when you're not sitting in a classroom with others who are bouncing ideas around and asking questions you might not have thought of yourself. You learn by watching and hearing others learning. There's something "dry" about learning online or from a textbook. It's one-way input, not back and forth. You mind doesn't fully engage if you're not analyzing and discussing what you're supposed to be learning. You might be able to pass a test immediately after reading, but you won't retain it in the long run because you never really "learned" it, you only temporarily memorized it. "Use it or lose it."
DeleteI can relate to what they were saying about not agreeing with each other about what some scriptures of the Bible are saying. My husband and I definitely don't agree with each other and I may not necessarily agree with my pastor either. Great podcast and thank you for posting.
ReplyDeleteThere is something inherently wrong with religion if its adherents can't agree amongst themselves. You lose focus, and it becomes a debate. Why follow something or someone you don't agree in or with?
DeleteThe focus is supposed to be on God the Father, Jesus the Son, our savior and the Holy Spirit. The reason to follow is because it is the truth of our salvation. Accept it and be changed as you follow.
Delete11:40 Amen!,
DeleteIf I went to a church and I didn't agree with the pastor, I'd be outta there. Especially if he or she was preaching something I considered dangerous, bigoted, or false.
DeleteWell they spend more time posting stuff than most of their siblings who never post anything.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed listening to the podcast, Elisha and Katie did a great job of directing the podcast. Jessa and Ben are such a joyful, lovely, humble couple. It was encouraging to hear how hard they have worked and how Ben was led to pastor a church by taking on an internship at another church first. It was fun to hear the joy they have in raising their family. It was very evident from this interview of their deep love they have for their families. I thought it was sweet when Katie shared about when she was young, how her large family stayed at the Duggars and the kind hospitality they were shown. As an adult she reflected on how much she remembers about that visit and the Duggars kindness.
ReplyDeleteDoes Jessa take the children to Ben's church on Sunday? Does Jessa help Ben anyway at his church?
ReplyDeleteGreat comment. Also share the name of the church too
Delete3:46 Pastoring at his church is HIS job. His wife shouldn’t have to “cheerfully work for free” to “help” him do his job that he gets paid for. She should be at home cleaning and the house and caring for the kids. THAT is the unpaid job for which SHE was hired.
ReplyDeleteHE should be doing that stuff too. It's also his house and his kids. Fathers don't get a free ride in the housework and kid raising departments. Doesn't matter what paying job they have. They still have to help with the other stuff. Only the deployed military get off that hook.
DeleteIt astounds me that in 2024 people are still pontificating as to what men and women are responsible for doing and what roles they must fill in a marriage. Whether a woman or a man chooses to be a SAHP, or work outside the home, she/he should NOT be responsible for housework and child care 24/7. A marriage relationship should be based on teamwork, 50/50. If either spouse is keeping score, there are big problems.
DeleteAnd the question remains unanswered with every podcast; how do they afford five kids and normal expenses on a pastors salary???
DeleteIt's impossible to split things 50/50. Who decides what constitutes a fair share? Does mentally challenging work equal the same as physically challenging work? Do you count minutes and make sure both work the same number of minutes?
Delete@10:48 You don't count minutes. You have a partner who recognizes when you have a need for help and vice versa. A partner who knows what to do without being reminded. Together you get all the housework and child care done that needs to be done. At the end of the day, was everything accomplished? Is either parent feeling over-burdened? That's the meaning of 50/50 and teamwork.
DeleteI can tell from some of these comments that the majority of you aren't married and or will never bend to compromise and work with your husband's. Very sad state of affairs and why divorce is so prevalent
DeleteRead the Bible: it'll guide you as to how a marriage should be, but so many people are selfish and never content
Delete10:47 I'm not divorced
Delete5:34, but that's not literally 50/50. Teamwork, yes. 50/50, no.
Delete@2:42 How they "afford" to provide for their family is not your nor anyone else's concern.
DeleteHappy Mothers Day to all 16 Duggar Mothers! And Happy Fathers Day next month to all 14 Duggar fathers! (I hope Igot this count right. )
ReplyDeleteJessa is already letting her oldest daughter, who's only about to turn 5, wear the baby in a carrier around the house. Another generation of sister-moms in the making.
ReplyDeleteIncredible. That is WAY too young to be watching a baby, let alone be carrying one around. One misstep or misjudgement of a doorway and you have a baby with a head injury. You can't strap a heavy baby onto a little 4 or 5 year old. It changes their center of gravity and balance. It's a fall waiting to happen, and what is there to break the fall? The baby?
DeleteHere's hoping that Jackson is enjoying his 20th Birthday!!!!!!!!! (Posted by Here's Hoping.)
ReplyDeleteDear Ivy: I hope that you are having a fantastic 5th Birthday!!!!!!!!! (Posted by Here's Hoping. )
ReplyDeleteHere's hoping that Joy & Austin are both enjoying their 7th Anniversary!!!!!! Posted by Here's Hoping.)
ReplyDeleteDear Marcus: I hope that you are having a fantastic 11th Birthday!!!!!!!!! (Posted by Here's Hoping.)
ReplyDelete